Method and apparatus for storing oil



E. MALLERY ,METHOD AND-APPARAI1US FOR STORING OIL Nov. 1o, 1925. 1,561,260

Filed llay 8. 19725 Z0 y /7 /l /l4 Y 1/6 I EAL /5 Manier TTUBNE-Ys Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

PATENT oFFIcE.-

ELLIS MALLERY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING OIL.

Application led May 8, 1923.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ELLIS MALLERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Methodv of yand Apparatus for Storing Oil, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of storing inflammable and volatile liquids which are lighter than water, such as, for example, petroleum oils. In the production of petroleum it often occurs that large fields are discovered which, under competitive drilling conditions, are rapidly opened up, thus producing large quantities of oil. It sometimes happens that there is no immediate market for thisoil, due generally to lack of transportation facilities, and it sometimes further occurs that there are periods Vof over-production, in which oil falls to a low value due to this over-production.

The storage of oil in large quantities as previously practiced has employed either steel tanks or earthen or concrete reservoirs. Steel tanks are somewhat expensive, and are moreover often 4 hard to obtain on short notice.v Earthen reservoirs are very unsatisfactory due to the fact that large quantities of oil seep away into the ground from such reservoirs Concrete reservoirs vare satisfactory in most particulars, but are somewhat expensive to construct and maintain.

All of the above enumerated forms of storage are objectionablev invthat there is usually a considerable loss by evaporation, especially in the event that a volatile oil is stored therein. Steel tanks are also frequently struck by lightning, and res from thisand other causes are .of not infrequent occurrence.

It is an object of my inventionv to provide a method of storing oil by means of which volatile oils may be stored over long periods without lsubstantial depreciation from evap- `orationand* with substantiallyno fire risk. A further yobject of the invention is to providel a method of storing oil which will be cheap to construct and in which the danger of loss of oil will be slight.

Further objects and advantages willl be made evident hereinafter.

Serial No. 637,454.`

Referring to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only: 1

Fig. 1 is a cross-section through one embodiment of myinvention.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4: are diagrammatic plan views oflcertain modifications of my invention.

In the form of my invention illustrated, I provide a reservoir 11, which is formed with relatively thin walls 12 of concrete or other material impervious to the oil to be stored. The reservoir 11 is located in the ground which is known to have a more or less definite and fixed gro-und water level. In the illustration the ground water is supposed to remain constant within a few feet of a plane represented by the line --m of F ig. 1.

In the construction of the reservoir I preferably first form trenches in which the concrete walls 12 are cast, excavating inside these walls to form the reservoir, the bottom of which is not lined in any way. Arches indicated at 13 may be formed in the side walls to provide an open communication through the lower portion of these walls with the surrounding territory. I then provide a concrete or other impervious cover 14 which is preferably cast in place on the floor of the reservoir, this cover being preferably of reinforced concrete and consisting of a fiat plate or bottom which extends over the entire surface of the reservoir and which is provided with an upturned edge 15 extending therearound. The upturned edge 15 is of suflicient height to allow the cover to float on the body of liquid in the reservoir at all times, the cover fittingas tightly as it can be conveniently constructed, it being however small enough to readily slide up and down in the reservoir in the event that the fluid level changes.

At one or more places in the cover I prol vide manholes 16, having covers 17, the purpose of the manholes being to allow a diver to go down into the reservoir at any-time that it may be necessary to do so.

Oil is introduced and withdrawn from a point below the cover by means of an oil outlet pipe 18, having a flexible member 19 so that the cover can rise and fall without being materially restrained by the pipe 18.

I provide one or more drainage spaces 10 in the tcp of the cover and mount on the cover a bilge pump 20, which is provided with a pipe E21, having a flexible connection 22. The bilge pump is provided for the purpose of removing rain water from the top of the cover. At one side of the reservoir I may provide a Well servedV by a water pump 24, the purpose of this well being` to control the ground water and in some cases to supply ground water in the event that it is deficient or absent. K

The reservoir may be round as shown in 25 at Fig. 2, or rectangular as shownin 2G at Fig. In some cases I may malretlie covers 14 yin multiple form as shown at 27 in Fig. il, these covers being unattached to cach other and either beingprovidedfwith individual oil connections and bilge pumps, or being handled from a single` connection and pump. n

The method of operation of my invention is as follows: y

rIhe reservoir being constructed in wet ground, will rapidly lill with water up to the plane .ar-rc, if pumping from the well 23 is discontinued. The cover 14 may be constructed in the bottom of the reservoir while the water level is kept down by the pump 2.4, or by any other convenient means, or if it is impracticable to' do this, the cover may beconstructed in forms above or below the water level, the ground water thereafter being allowed to enter the reservoir, lifting and floating the cover 14 on the surface thereof. sired to fill the reservoir with oil, this oil is supplied through the oil pipe 19, the oil being lighter than water andV tending to float thereon. The oil, therefore, collects under the cover, tending to raise the same in the reservoir. and thus increases the internal pressure on the water in the bottom of the reservoir. This will result 1nV a rapid seepage of the water back into the surroundingl ground, or to the control well, so that as fast as' the oil is pumped in, the water passes back into the surrounding ground.

In practice a very small increase in hydraulic head inside the reservoir is suiiicient to cause the water to escape therefrom by overflow at the mouth of the well, or around outside walls of the container. In the event that the formation is not sufficiently pervious to take up the water at the desired rate, the pump 24 may be also utilized to lower the water level. Oil is then run into the reservoir until the oil level comes very close to the bottom of the reservoir.

The reservoir being filled, it is simply necessary to operate the pump 20, from time to time, to pump out any rain water which may fall in the top and which fails to evaporate.- In very hot weather water may be lVhenever it is desupplied through the pipe 22 and a shallow body of water maintained in the cover to provide evaporation for cooling the cover. Any increase or dimunition of the ground water can be readily determined by an inspection of the level of the cover 14, the pump 2% being used to control the ground water if necessary.

It' will be noted that the body of oil in the reservoir is enclosed at its edges by impervious concrete walls which can be cheaply constructed, of sufficient thickness to be reliable. Any escape of the oil downwardly is resisted by the water, and substantially the entire upper surface of the oil is covered at all times by the concrete cover. It is true that there is a narrow opening or crack between the cover and the walls of the" reservoir from which some slight evaporation of oil can take place. This evaporation is, however, very small and the losses from large reservoirs constructed in accordance with my invention are extremely slight, even if the oil remains in the reservoir over long periods. c

It is not difficult, using my method of construction to produce reservoirs having a capacity of 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 barrels and coverii'ig several acres. The concrete cover is, of course, fireproof, and the oil stored in the reservoir, protected as it is both above and below, may be keptin storage for longperiods ywithout substantial deterioration.

The reservoirs may be very cheaply constructed, and their use is of great importance in the oi'll industry, as they tend to stabilize the' industry, providing storage space in times of flush production, from which oil may be drawn whenever production falls ofi and consumption increases.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an oil storage reservoir, the combination of: walls forming a reservoir, the greater portion of said reservoir being below ground water level; and Walls forming a well in open communication with the soil, said well having communication with said reservoir through an aperture formed in the reservoir wall adjacent the bottom thereof.

Q. In an oil storage reservoir, the combination of: walls forming an enclosure, the greater portion of said enclosure being below ground water level; Walls forming a well in lopen communication with the soil, said well having open communication with the lower part of said enclosure; and means for rapidly conveying water from said well.

3. In an oilstorage reservoir, the combination of: side walls forming a reservoir having a pervious bottom, the greater por tion of said reservoir being below ground water level; and walls forming a well in open communication with the soil7 said well IBO having communication With said reservoir through an aperture formed in the reservoir Wall adjacent the bottom thereof.

4. In an oil storage reservoir, the oombination of: side walls forming` an enclosure having a pervious bottom, the greater portion of said enclosure being belon7 ground Water level; Walls forming a Well in open communication With the soil, said Well having open communication With the lower part 10 of said enclosure; and means for rapidly conveying Water from said Well.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto sety my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 3rd day of May 1923.

' ELLIS MALLERY. 

